New York is doubling the number of cannabis dispensary licenses it will award to business owners who have been adversely affected by marijuana enforcement, the state said Thursday.
(Bloomberg) — New York is doubling the number of cannabis dispensary licenses it will award to business owners who have been adversely affected by marijuana enforcement, the state said Thursday.
The Cannabis Control Board announced that it will increase the number of licenses under its justice-driven application process to 300 from 150. The agency received 900 applications for the first spots, and the additional licensees will be selected from the existing pool, control board Executive Director Chris Alexander said.
New York is restricting its initial retail licenses to people who were incarcerated on marijuana charges or who have a family member who was. The aim is to promote small businesses in communities long impacted by a decades-long war on drugs.
But the rollout has been slow since the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, with only 66 licenses awarded so far. Of those, just four dispensary operators have opened, three of which are located in downtown Manhattan. That’s led to a booming gray market of illegal shops that are pulling business away from legal dispensaries and stirring public health concerns.
Read more: NYC weed crackdown nets more than $4 million in illegal products
Licensees are also facing other significant challenges, including finding available real estate and getting community and landlord approval.
Another stumbling block is an injunction handed down by a federal judge in November preventing New York from distributing licenses in five regions, including Brooklyn.
Despite the obstacles facing dispensary operators, several potential licensees at Thursday’s board meeting in Albany expressed gratitude for the expanded program.
“Today I’ve seen something I didn’t see so far,” said Charles Robinson, who said he’s an applicant who didn’t get licensed in the first round. “I was almost discouraged.”
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